—in which he said, “Between a man and idolatry and outright disbelief lies the abandonment of the prayer.”

The ḥadith also states, “He used to command us to speak the truth.” This is the point of evidence here: the Prophet ﷺ would enjoin his community to be truthful, just as the Almighty says, “O you who believe, be mindful of Allah and keep company with those who are truthful” (al-Tawbah 9:119).

Truthfulness is a noble trait and is of two kinds: truthfulness with Allah and truthfulness with the servants of Allah—both are virtuous qualities. The opposite of truthfulness is lying, which is to convey information contrary to reality. Lying is blameworthy and one of the hallmarks of the hypocrites, as the Messenger ﷺ said: “The signs of the hypocrite are three,” and among them he mentioned, “When he speaks, he lies.” Some people—Allah protect us—are afflicted with this disease; they find no comfort or relief except in lying. He lies continually: if he tells you something, it is a lie; if he sits in a gathering, he invents stories just to make people laugh. The Prophet ﷺ warned: “Woe to the one who speaks and lies so as to amuse the people… woe to him, woe to him, woe to him,” repeating it three times.

His words “al-ʿafāf” mean chastity, and chastity is of two types: chastity from the lust of the private parts and chastity from the lust of the stomach.

As for the first type, it is that a person avoids what Allah has forbidden of fornication and every means that leads to it, for Allah the Exalted says, “And do not come near fornication; indeed, it is ever an abomination…” (al-Isrāʾ 17:32).